On Monday morning, Jet clutched Kitty tightly as she waved goodbye to her mother from the garage. As we came inside I asked, “What would you like for breakfast today?” As Jet started to answer, we both realized that her book bag was still in the car. As Jet began to wail, I frantically called my daughter – but her phone went to voicemail.

By the time I had left a message, Jet was sobbing pitifully, “My blanket, my blanket!”

“Jet! Jet! Look at Grandma! Do you have another blanket at home?”

“My blanket is in the car!”

“Listen to me, Jet, listen: do you have another blanket you like at home?” I touched her chin and made her look at me. “Isn’t there another blanket at home?” Jet nodded, but the tears continued to fall. “Then everything is okay! After breakfast we will go to your house and get your extra blanket and your clothes! I promise!”

I could see the hope dawning in Jet’s eyes. “I need my tag blanket!”

“I know you do, I know. Grandma has some blankets here too… do you want to check and see if one of them has a tag that works for you?”

“I need MY tag blanket Grandma!”

“I know, but just in case it makes you feel better right now, let’s see what I have. Then we’ll have breakfast and go to your house, okay?”

“Yes.”

We went into the bedroom and I pulled out a white blanket that had come in the very same bag as Jet’s special blanket. “Try this one.”

Jet felt the satin tag. My blanket may not have been washed quite as much but the tags started out the same. Jet shook her head. “No, this isn’t good. I need my tag blanket.”

The Brothers Love ALL Blankets

“I have a couple more blankets in the closet. Let’s try them, just in case something happens again. It would be good to know that I have an extra blanket you like.” I pulled one of her brothers’ blankets from the shelf. “This one has blue giraffes on it. Try this one.”

Jet felt the tag. “It’s not good.” Tears began to well in her eyes.

“Now don’t forget, we are still going to go to get your blanket after breakfast. I promised.” Jet sighed. “I have one more for you to try. This one has blue elephants on it.” Jet’s nursery was decorated in pink with bunnies. Her brothers’ nursery is blue with elephants.

Jet grabbed the blanket from my hands and gave the tag a cursory feel. “This is a good one Grandma! I like this one! This can be MY elephant blanket! I can keep it here in my bed with my blanket too!”

I smiled wanly and wondered what sort of can of worms I had accidentally opened. “You like that blanket?”

“I love it! I love my elephant blanket!”

On the bright side, her brothers don’t seem to care about the color or design of their blankets. Maybe they can use the white one.